Of twos — or one(s) too

by Jeremy Fernando

(for Saskia & Laura; and my dear friend, Peter van de Kamp)

   

Do You Realize — that you have the most beautiful face
Do You Realize

And I don’t even need to see you; for I have already heard you —
you too, for you are two;
just as the two are you.
In the beginning there was two; for
even as there are two, both are always also one —
there is two.
The two that are one, even as the one is two.

The two that are too; even as they duel.
For every duel needs you too —
there is a duality to a duel.
And every blow in the duel always already bears an echo of you.

Two for the Queen, on different days —
for you two too, but on the same.
Just different moments —
both echoes of your names.

Some day the world will say — to your own self be true.
But you’ll know better;
For, in each breathe, each movement,
you’ll be in twain: twice the fun, double the trouble,
in thunder, lightning, or in rain.

And instead of saying all of your goodbyes — let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It’s hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn’t go down
It’s just an illusion caused by the world spinning round

(The Flaming Lips)

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About the Author:

Jeremy Fernando is the Jean Baudrillard Fellow at The European Graduate School. He works in the intersections of literature, philosophy, and the media; and is the author of Reflections on (T)error, The Suicide Bomber; and her gift of death, Reading Blindly and Writing Death. Exploring other media has led him to film, music, and art; and his work has been exhibited in Seoul, Vienna, Hong Kong and Singapore. He is the general editor of both Delere Press, and the thematic magazine One Imperative; and a Fellow of Tembusu College at the National University of Singapore.